Transcript of Mr. Kabiri’s speech and discussion at the Central Asia Program, George Washington University, October 16, 2012

Voices From Central Asia No. 8, November 2012

By Muhiddin Kabiri
Chairman of the Islamic Rebirth Party of Tajikistan

In her introduction, Director of the Central Asia Program Marlene Laruelle mentioned that our party is unique, that it is the only legal Islamic opposition party in Central Asia. When I hear such things about our party, when I read it in the papers, I always feel that the attitude toward us is as if we are not a legitimate political party—one that has every right to exist and should exist—but rather that we are some kind of museum exhibit, an endangered species of sorts.